Believe

[Charles]

[14.23] And those who believe and do good are made to enter gardens, beneath which rivers flow...


This phrase 'believe and go good' is repeated many times in the Qur'an. So my question is what does 'believe' mean - believe what??

[AbuSadiq]

[14.23] And those who believe and do good are made to enter gardens, beneath which rivers flow...


This phrase 'believe and go good' is repeated many times in the Qur'an. So my question is what does 'believe' mean - believe what??



The general concept of "believe" is to "agree within your conscious, and to be rest assured that something is true, or is there, or have any impact you are told it has; whether you can see, felt (consciously or otherwise) or not. This is a general concept.

However, Islamically, a muslim is expected to have this "sesitive" agreement within his conscious about Allah (God). The very much of Islamic belief lies in the unseen (ghaib). For instance, to believe in Allah is to agree that Allah is there, He oversees every happening within and beyond the universe; He owns everything you can see, but He is not everything you can see, He is the Creator, who created everything, including the Jannah and the Hell fire. Hence He is the only Being Worthy of being worship. This is the belief, and what follows it is action.

It is this general believe in Allah that energises the followers of the Islamic faith to undertake the physical deeds in comformity with the Legal rulings sent down to them by the Powerful Unseen above (Allah). This is the Ibaadaat, ie. religious rituals and doing good. For those who do deeds, the Aljannah (paradise) awaits them - a componet of what they believe above.

A muslim therefore does not only believe and sits down to wait for the promised paradise he only believes in, NO! He must do good deeds, to show that yes, he truly believed what he prefessed to have believed. Hence the quoted verse above.

Salam

[Charles]

Dear AbuSadiq,


Thanks for your reply. I think the phrase 'believe and do good' is talking about salvation ie those who believe and do good will go to paradise. This is extremely important so why does Allah not say clearly what we should believe - is there any place in the Qur'an where Allah specifies what we should believe? I don't know if this is a problem of translation, but in English you can't just say 'believe' you have to say believe in what. People believe all kinds of things, pagans believe in idols.

[AbuSadiq]

Dear AbuSadiq,


Thanks for your reply. I think the phrase 'believe and do good' is talking about salvation ie those who believe and do good will go to paradise. This is extremely important so why does Allah not say clearly what we should believe - is there any place in the Qur'an where Allah specifies what we should believe? I don't know if this is a problem of translation, but in English you can't just say 'believe' you have to say believe in what. People believe all kinds of things, pagans believe in idols.

You can find the basic sets of believe in the following verse:

It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah.fearing. (2: 177)

Hope you are satisfied...!

[Charles]

It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers;

Thanks for this. Is this the things that a Muslim must believe (or is there anything left out) and is there a word for this (the things that a Muslim must believe)? I mean this list of course contains more than the shahada, which only mentions Allah and Mohammed (pbuh). Is this list found elsewhere in the Qur'an?

[AbuSadiq]

Thanks for this. Is this the things that a Muslim must believe (or is there anything left out) and is there a word for this (the things that a Muslim must believe)? I mean this list of course contains more than the shahada, which only mentions Allah and Mohammed (pbuh). Is this list found elsewhere in the Qur'an?

There are three components of believe (Imaan), thus:

I'tiqaad bil qalb (believe in the heart): the first stage, to have the believe about the listed items above, in your heart.
Al-Qaulu Bil lisaan (professing with the tongue): the second stage is to say out the believe, the Shahada now comes in. One must profess what he believes in.
Al-Amal Bil Jawaarih (actions with the joints): this is the last stage. one must practice the believe.

[locked]

There are three components of believe (Imaan), thus:

I'tiqaad bil qalb (believe in the heart): the first stage, to have the believe about the listed items above, in your heart.
Al-Qaulu Bil lisaan (professing with the tongue): the second stage is to say out the believe, the Shahada now comes in. One must profess what he believes in.
Al-Amal Bil Jawaarih (actions with the joints): this is the last stage. one must practice the believe.

Just to clarify for my own sake, all three of those things (with regards to the quoted ayah) define the imaan, so therefore also what defines what a muslim is right?

[Charles]

There are three components of believe (Imaan), thus:
I'tiqaad bil qalb (believe in the heart): the first stage, to have the believe about the listed items above, in your heart.
Al-Qaulu Bil lisaan (professing with the tongue): the second stage is to say out the believe, the Shahada now comes in. One must profess what he believes in.
Al-Amal Bil Jawaarih (actions with the joints): this is the last stage. one must practice the believe.

Have I got this right - shahada involves only Allah and Mohammed (pbuh) but imaan involves Allah, Mohammed (pbuh), the other prophets, the Last Day, the Angels, and the Book. Is Imaan defined like this somewhere in the Qur'an?



Thanx

[Arsalan]

Have I got this right - shahada involves only Allah and Mohammed (pbuh) but imaan involves Allah, Mohammed (pbuh), the other prophets, the Last Day, the Angels, and the Book. Is Imaan defined like this somewhere in the Qur'an?



Thanx

The criteria of complete Iman has been explained at interpolated from the Quran. ANd it can be understood frm reading a good book. Which will provided proofs and evidences.

Try this link for help : http://www.iprofess.com/beliefs.htm

How about this verse, showing some of the islamic beliefs.

Chapter 2
285. The Messenger believeth in what hath been revealed to him from his Lord, as do the men of faith. Each one (of them) believeth in Allah, His angels, His books, and His apostles. "We make no distinction (they say) between one and another of His apostles." And they say: "We hear, and we obey: (We seek) Thy forgiveness, our Lord, and to Thee is the end of all journeys."

286. On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear. It gets every good that it earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns. (Pray:) "Our Lord! Condemn us not if we forget or fall into error; our Lord! Lay not on us a burden Like that which Thou didst lay on those before us; Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith."